Control Design

I know you are not a networking expert, but I am. I found it difficult to read your cover article for the November 2016 edition. Let me explain.
Ethernet is a communications technology widely used to solve problems in industrial Fieldbus…

For any of us grey beards, the introduction of yet another “universal” I/O system is sure to be met with rolling eyes and a big sigh. Like the proverbial better mouse trap, what could another way to connect automation devices have that would be…

NKT Cables is acquiring ABB’s global high-voltage cable system business, with a total enterprise value of $934 million. According to ABB, the high-voltage cables business is part of its Power Grids division, which is currently undergoing a strategic review.
NKT Cables designs, manufactures and supplies power cables for low-, medium- and high-voltage solutions mainly in the Alternating Current (AC)-area. It has production facilities in Europe and China, as well as sales offices around the world.
“We are combining two strong cable portfolios rooted in a shared Nordic heritage that will be more competitive on a larger scale under NKT Cables’ ownership, while maintaining access to supply through a long-term strategic partnership,” said…

The IoT journey is pushing the development of smart devices, equipment and machines.

The journey to smart devices, equipment and machines is underway, but how do you implement it? To start, Dan Throne, during Automation Fair in Atlanta, Georgia, pointed out a few of the roadblocks that need to be navigated to create smart machines…

Control Design's quarterly section highlights some of the latest online tools and resources for various technologies. In this case, it covers wireless sensors.
Many of these kinds of sensors work on a wireless sensor network (WSN) as spatially dispersed and dedicated devices for monitoring the physical condition of industrial and process environments. The data they collect is organized at a central location, where it can be analyzed to optimize processes or used to monitor errors, so operators can take timely action. There are numerous types of wireless sensors, ranging from temperature to impact, strain, pressure, level, vibration and more.
A Simple Way to Add New Sensors?
WirelessHART is pertinent to the wireless sensors topic because…

Components are tested for temperature and vibration extremes at RuggedCom.

I’m a software guy, so, when I was invited to Siemens’ RuggedCom plant tour, I was intrigued, as well as excited to see what these guys were doing.
RuggedCom started as a Canadian innovation story in 2002. It grew quickly and found the eye of…

Information collected via the Internet of Things gives a competitive advantage, but at what cost?

You just can’t make this stuff up. Remember Barbie—that doll that is Wi-Fi-connected and can create an open port on your home network just so she can talk to your kid? That Barbie.
Well, the Internet of Things (IoT) has gone haywire, and I think…

Well, have you heard? Maverick Technologies has been bought by Rockwell Automation. How much you say? While not disclosed, I can only assume it was for a pretty penny.
I have met Paul Galeski, founder of Maverick. I found him to be a very genuine…

When automation professionals hear the phrase “distributed control system” or its acronym DCS, they usually think about the huge, monolithic and expensive control systems often used in big process plants. Ironically, most distributed control…

Although power supplies just keep getting better, these well developed devices still must be properly specified and connected.

A variety of power sources are typically required to operate industrial machinery. This includes the plant line side ac voltage down to the electronic devices—power supplies—used to convert the ac to dc voltage. Not only is the type of power…

Eight experts give insight into what machine builders need to know when better hardware and software are introduced to industrial PCs and electronic OI.

Our panel of eight industry experts weigh in on how hardware and software advancements are driving the future of industrial PCs.
How has the convergence between industrial PCs and electronic OI been impacted by the rush for greater software…

February 2014 Survey Results Show 53% of Respondents Use Closed-Loop Stepper Motors

An electronic survey of Control Design readers was conducted in February 2014 in order to identify usage and application trends in motion, drives and motor technology among the industrial machine builders that comprise Control Design's readership.
47% of respondents who use stepper motors use open-loop steppers; 53% use closed-loop.
Read all survey results.

Eight experts give insight into what machine builders need to know when better hardware and software are introduced to industrial PCs and electronic OI.

Our panel of eight industry experts weigh in on how hardware and software advancements are driving the future of industrial PCs.
How has the convergence between industrial PCs and electronic OI been impacted by the rush for greater software…

Safety Applications Become More Complex When More Than Three Inputs Must Be Monitored and Controlled

Machine and robot builders often need safety-rated monitoring and control, which can be accomplished with safety-rated relays or PLCs. "Many applications could use either a safety relay or PLC, but the choice depends on four main considerations: complexity, flexibility, availability and footprint," says George Schuster, senior industry specialist for the automotive team at Rockwell Automation.
SEE ALSO: Safety Relays or Better Diagnostics?
Safety applications become complex when more than about three inputs must be monitored and controlled, or when communication over a digital network is required. "Safety relays are hardwired to perform simple diagnostics and logic, and work well when the amount of safety points in the application are…

Siemens provides PLM software and pledges up to $1 million to establish center.

Siemens and the University of Cincinnati have announced a partnership to establish a simulation and modeling center enabled with Siemens product lifecycle management (PLM) software.
Housed on UC’s main campus in its College of Engineering and Applied Science (CEAS), the Siemens PLM Simulation Technology Center will be a hub for developing and applying new methodologies and technologies in engineering education and research, according to Siemens.
Through a pledge from Siemens of up to $1 million, as well as Siemens’ staff support and additional PLM software, the partnership will provide experiential learning opportunities for students in UC’s CEAS.
“As manufacturing companies worldwide move closer to Industry 4.0, it is more…

Siemens provides PLM software and pledges up to $1 million to establish center.

Siemens and the University of Cincinnati have announced a partnership to establish a simulation and modeling center enabled with Siemens product lifecycle management (PLM) software.
Housed on UC’s main campus in its College of Engineering and Applied Science (CEAS), the Siemens PLM Simulation Technology Center will be a hub for developing and applying new methodologies and technologies in engineering education and research, according to Siemens.
Through a pledge from Siemens of up to $1 million, as well as Siemens’ staff support and additional PLM software, the partnership will provide experiential learning opportunities for students in UC’s CEAS.
“As manufacturing companies worldwide move closer to Industry 4.0, it is more…

In the new Nat Geo series ‘Mars,’ the technology, hardware and engineering have to be there, and, if that's the case, hold on tight because we are definitely going to Mars.

National Geographic Channel (NGC) is launching a new TV series, “Mars,” in November. The six-part miniseries brings together some of the best minds in modern science and innovation, illuminating how research and development are creating the…

There can be a lot of hype surrounding motor and drive efficiency. However, from a machine designer prospective, the new motor efficiency standards don't really affect the machine builder, but there are some things to be aware of. On the…

Once a VFD is specified, pay attention to these installation tips to realize its benefits

Starting and stopping a motor can be done with three common methods: a motor starter, soft start or variable frequency drive (VFD). As of late, the use of a VFD is becoming more popular than ever due to its claimed efficiency benefits, but be sure…

Industry 4.0, the Internet of Things (IoT), the reindustrialization of U.S. manufacturing and the skills gap in advance manufacturing all have people’s attention at the corporate, state and federal levels. "We would like to showcase how Festo can…

How to be fluid with the component choices that create powerful pressure and flow.

When specifying a hydraulic power system, a careful analysis of the application is required before selecting the various equipment. An open-loop hydraulic power unit is used to supply fluid power to various hydraulic actuators such as cylinders,…

Engineering students and their professor built an electrospin machine to create a biocompatible aligned nanofiber mesh.

If you can’t buy it, you have to build it. This was the situation we encountered when we needed to grow vascular tissue for a bioengineering project at our university, and we found existing solutions not acceptable. In addition to our team, others…

Will the stepper motor work poorly in a servo application, or will the servo motor be overkill for the stepper application?

The stepper and servo motor each has its advantages and disadvantages. Both integrate well with a variety of control systems and provide high-performance linear and rotary motion capabilities. While the motor technology and control is well developed…

Servo-motor applications and temperature-control applications often need training after the auto-tune.

A Control Design reader wrote to us: I often have difficulty tuning PID loops, especially for temperature control applications and servo-motor motion applications. If I use a temperature controller, the auto-tune built into the device often works…

Once clean, dry air at the proper pressure is connected and safe, get control of the pneumatic cylinders, actuators and motors with proper valve selection and flow control.

Supplying clean, dry air is an important starting point to long and reliable valve operation in industrial machines and equipment. However, switching the air through the proper type of valve to control the cylinder, actuator or air motor is where is where fluid power is controlled.
Pneumatics are a great choice for many machine linear and rotary applications. Unless the machine requires accurate, programmable motion-positioning electric motors or the high-force capabilities of hydraulics, a pneumatic solution is often the best and most popular choice. Instead of electricity, design in some pneumatic air preparation hardware, tubing, valves, solenoids and flow controls, connect to the pneumatic cylinders, actuators and motors and get the…

See how others are focusing this broad subject into successful machines.

Working with machine automation and design software requires a broad range of knowledge. With project management, designers and programmers are often involved from the initial concept to completion. The design tools, teams, hardware and software…

Get along, little robot: Integration and collaboration are two important job requirements for the robot workforce.

A robot's flexibility makes it suitable for use in many applications. Whether you’re starting or expanding the use of robotics, there’s a lot to know when it comes to selection, safety and collaboration.
Start with the unwanted
Robots can help…

Sensors are becoming better, smaller, less expensive and embedded—here's what you need to know in 2016.

Specifying, designing, programming and integrating are just some of the tasks related to sensor and vision system use on machines. Sensors are becoming better, smaller, less expensive and embedded. From new vision hardware to lenses, lighting and…

Sensors are becoming better, smaller, less expensive and embedded—here's what you need to know in 2016.

Specifying, designing, programming and integrating are just some of the tasks related to sensor and vision system use on machines. Sensors are becoming better, smaller, less expensive and embedded. From new vision hardware to lenses, lighting and…

To be sure you hit a target, you have to see or somehow sense it. That truth lies behind the theory and practice of presence sensors, which are used to determine whether a box, bottle, piece of metal, or something else is there or not. Armed with…

A Control Design reader writes: We have several temperature, pressure and flow sensors on a new medical-device cleaning skid that we are developing. These instruments are connected to a PLC as 4-20 mA inputs, and there is also a 4-20 mA output used…

Motion Industries, Inc. a wholly owned subsidiary of Genuine Parts Company, has entered an agreement to acquire OBBCO Safety & Supply, LLC. The transaction closing was scheduled for August.
Based in Chesapeake, Va., OBBCO Safety & Supply is an industrial safety distributor, which provides products from more than 100 safety supply manufacturers. Its offerings include a wide range of personal protective equipment, as well as other essentials such as hazardous storage units, first aid supplies and gas detection equipment.
"OBBCO Safety looks forward to the opportunities that Motion Industries will bring to our employees and our customers," said OBBCO owner, Mike Bryant. "This will provide OBBCO with the ability to expand our footprint…

Our expert panel guides you through step-by-step considerations when it comes to presence sensing and machine guarding.

Safety and presence sensing are key considerations in machine design. This six-person panel of safety and sensor veterans addresses some of the important points that must be addressed.
From deciding between a mechanical guard or a light curtain or…

The IISF emphasizes the importance of five IIoT characteristics – safety, reliability, resilience, security and privacy.

The Industrial Internet Consortium (IIC) has published the Industrial Internet Security Framework (IISF), a common security framework that addresses security issues in IIoT systems. The IISF emphasizes the importance of five IIoT characteristics…

As controls engineers, we seldom make component selection decisions based on how a human operator interacts with the products we choose. If we do our job well, humans rarely need to see or touch the control devices in any particular system. We may…

Some considerations for designers and builders of control panels that will help ensure the panels' maintainability.

One of our most popular articles on control panel design comes from a 2014 article by Don Fitchett, president of Business Industrial Network, an industrial training company, on considerations for designers and builders of control panels to help…

When an HMI project requires more functionality than that offered by self-contained touchscreen units, the next step is to use an industrial PC-based system. The PC can be a traditional keyboard and mouse if the environment allows, or an integrated…

Computer-controlled graphic interfaces may be the norm, but harsh environments often call for more rugged components.

The original human-machine interface (HMI) devices—buttons, selector switches, indicator lamps, buzzers and horns—are still widely used on equipment even if the main control interface is a computer-controlled graphical device. In some…

Computer-controlled graphic interfaces may be the norm, but harsh environments often call for more rugged components.

The original human-machine interface (HMI) devices—buttons, selector switches, indicator lamps, buzzers and horns—are still widely used on equipment even if the main control interface is a computer-controlled graphical device. In some…

Open Standards Doesn't Always Mean Interoperable

Whom Should You Blame the Next Time You Get Called in the Middle of the Night Because of a Problem That Involves an Open System?

About the Author

Ian Verhappen is an ISA Fellow, Certified Automation Professional, and a recognized authority on industrial communications technologies with 25+ years experience predominantly in the process control field.

Everyone today is relying on the appli­cation of open and, in some cases, de facto standards to connect and operate modern automation systems. Everyone using these products also can relate at least one story of how they had difficulty connecting the parts of an apparently open, standards-compliant automation system into a whole.

Adherence to open standards inherently should imply interoperability. Yet this often isn't the case. I've seen this happen many times in my career. One of the biggest causes is manufacturers trying to protect market share.

Even so, open standards should be open stand­ards. So, how is this prevented from happening? The three main culprits, not necessarily in order, are as follows:

Inadequate testing — The problem might be because the standards themselves are so loose that they can't be properly tested, or they aren't verified by impartial third parties. This "looseness" occurs because the standard's developers don't want to exclude anyone because it's often the manufacturers who provide most of the membership revenue, technical input, and staff for the standard's development. These vendors also want to ensure they don't lose their investments.

Layers upon layers — Just as the OSI model has several layers, so do operating systems. Sometimes the layers seen by the user adhere to the standard, but there are proprietary layers underneath that might restrict the level of openness the system can support. To paraphrase a well-known logo, "proprietary inside" will certainly have an impact on what's on the outside.

Enhancements —Problems arising from "improving" a standard might be innocent, or a known potential for problems might be masked by the promotion, "We made this even better for you." Sometimes, unless the standard has a mechanism to support and interpret these extras, as Foundation fieldbus does with Device Descriptions, it really means we no longer adhere to the standard, and, as a result, no one else can connect with us anymore. This sounds like proprietary technology to me.

The biggest issue — and the reason less-than-open openness is a bad thing — is that few people understand these technologies well enough to identify the cause of the problems. They end up blaming the technology when, in fact, "We have found the enemy, and he is us." The enemy really is our complacency and reliance on others to prevent problems with open technology from happening.

Of course, with increasing outsourcing of non-core automation technologies and the aging of the workforce, there are fewer people available to do more than keep many plants running. Even facilities that still have in-house engineering staffs are using them more for maintenance, rather than learning about new technologies and how they can save their companies money.

But not all is doom and gloom. Most manu­facturers truly and fully support the open concept. But not everyone is perfect, including we end users for accepting and allowing infractions to happen. So, how can you make open standards work better?

Continue to use the resulting technology and then provide feedback and input to the supporting standards organizations. (Even though it's not a standards organization, Microsoft does this with its products.)

Tell your automation supplier you expect open to mean open, and that means not having to prepare any extra files or special items to work with someone else's open product adhering to the same standard.

Get involved. It is easier to influence something early on in the process, rather than at the end when your project is well underway. There are many ways to get involved. Join the OPC Foundation, the organizations for Foundation fieldbus, Profibus, Modbus, etc, or professional societies such as ISA and IEEE. Try to make a difference.

Whom should you blame the next time you get called in the middle of the night because of a problem that involves an open system being less than truly open? The main person to blame is looking at you in the mirror.